Honda Shuts Down 23-Yr Old Noida Factory, Stops Selling CR-V, Civic In India; GM Motors Too Leaves India

A realignment of its manufacturing operations by Honda Car India has been officially announced. Honda has decided to discontinue two vehicles in India– the Civic and the CR-V from the model line-up. With this the all new Honda City which was launched earlier this year will be the most premium and expensive car to be sold in India.

The production of the Civic and the CR-V has been phased out completely and production at the Great Noida plant has been stopped, as per the official announcement by Honda. The production of the Honda City sedan has now shifted to the manufacturer’s Tapukara plant, near Alwar, Rajasthan.

“Despite an uptick in sales in the last three months, the current market conditions remain unpredictable for the industry at large. The impact of COVID-19 has pressed us to strengthen our constitution, and to achieve the same, HCIL has decided to consolidate its manufacturing operations by making the Tapukara plant a unified manufacturing base. HCIL continues to believe in the resilience of the Indian economy and hope for a quicker recovery of the market. India is extremely important market in Honda’s global strategy and HCIL is committed to bring its latest and advanced technology models including electrified vehicles in future” said Mr. Gaku Nakanishi, President & CEO, Honda Cars India.

Discontinued Honda Civic & CR-V :-

Covid-19 sales impacted the sales, however the numbers were not strong prior to the lockdown. After skipping a generation of the sporty sedan in Indian market, all-new Honda Civic was launched. However it did not achieve the expected sales numbers. In the last few months, Honda sold only a couple of hundred Civic sedans every month, which is quite low. CR-V sales number could not even cross 35 units per month in the last 6 months.

All the other vehicles apart from these two, will be continued to be offered. Honda Amaze, Honda Jazz, Honda WR-V and the Honda City will remain on sale in the market.

While there is no news about future products from the brand. Honda has said in a press release that they will bring the latest and advanced technology models to the Indian market. The plan to launch Electric Vehicles in the Indian market is on the cards, but no timeline has been provided.

GM Motors Leaves India:-

GM on December 24 announced the plan to close the factory after its deal to sell the plant to Chinese automotive company Great Wall Motors (GWM) could not be concluded as regulatory approvals did not come through. This could have meant GM’s total exit from India and entry of GMW into India’s domestic vehicle market.

Till Tuesday evening, there were talks between the GM management and the workers’ union. Union has reached to Maharashtra CM Thackeray as plant shutdown would mean affecting livelihoods of 1000 employees. Workers are also exploring legal options at the industrial court in Pune. Union sources said the company would not be able to shut down till the Maharashtra state government approved it. Workers have urged the company to bring in new investors or offer them a voluntary retirement scheme.